Tech Tuesday, Camera Choices #2

So you have your creative juices flowing over what camera to choose for your Live Streaming situation.

Great, let's add a little more fuel to that fire… What sensor size camera should you consider???

Sensor Size??? Yup, every digital camera has a sensor inside it right behind the lens whether it is a $25 webcam or a $50,000 Red Digital Cinema V-Rapter XL 8K camera.

To a degree, size does matter here but so does the quality of the sensor.   I have seen $25 1080p webcams that look dramatically better than some larger censored dedicated video cameras.

But with a larger sensor, and interchangeable lenses, also comes some image effects that you may or may not want such as bokeh, or the ability to achieve a shallow depth of field resulting in a blurry background.

There are many different sensor sizes out there and I think a better way to help you choose a camera is to understand the most common sizes.

To start off, there are what is known as “Full Frame Sensor Cameras”.   The sensor is the equivalent to a 35mm film camera.   So all other sensor sizes are referenced from this standard.

Here is a short list from the 4 major brands in this field…

Sony Alpha series, Canon 5D mk iv, Lumix S9, Nikon D850

Next on the list is what is commonly called “Crop Sensors”, these have APS-C sensors and have a crop of 1.5 to 1.6.   This basically means that to get the same field of view as a full frame camera, you will have to move the camera back from the subject.

Here is a short list of crop sensor cameras…

Sony ZV-E10, Canon Rebel T8i, Nikon Z30

Next up in the “Crop Sensor” cameras are the Micro 4/3 sensors.   These are the smallest of the interchangeable lens cameras and often the most budget friendly as well and have a crop of 2.0.

Here is a short list of micro 4/3 sensor cameras…

Lumix G7, Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, Black Magic Micro Studio and Cinema camera

In the Webcam scene, it is a potpourri both in quality and in sensor size.   Suffice to say, it can be a bit of a hit and a miss on quality image and operation.

But here is a short list of ones that either I have or other Live Stream content creators swear by…

Vitade 1080p webcam, Logitech C930e, Emeet S600L, Emeet Piko Plus

Well I think that should be enough information overload for one post.   Next up will be PTZ cameras.

 In the meantime, do you have more questions than answers…

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